Couple let children beat nanny

A NANNY says she was forced into virtual slavery by weathly New York couple who locked her in a room with their children.

Felicitas del Carmen Villanueva Garnica, 50, claims she was physically abused every day by the three youngsters she cared for.

She claims the six, eight, and ten year repeatedly hit her and once slammed a refrigerator door on her head so hard she nearly lost consciousness, she charges in her lawsuit.

Ms Garnica has filed a lawsuit against socialites Malu Custer Edwards and Micky Hurley, claiming they smuggled her into the US from Chile "under false pretences and for the purpose of unlawfully compelling her to care for their young children".

Documents tendered to the Manhattan federal court allege Ms Edwards and Mr Hurley subjected her to three months of "forced labor" during which time she was continually "berated, belittled, told not to speak to anyone outside the family, and ordered never to leave the house".

"He would close the door and say, 'Stay there until I say so,' "she said.

Ms Garnica claims she was given just one day off in three months of 12-hour days spent caring for the children.

According to court documents, the couple promised to pay her $10 an hour but gave her just $800 a month - the equivalent of just $2 an hour.

When she protested, Mr Edwards allegedly told her, "No other nannies in the US make more than $700 per month".